Fire sucks

This is what I was talking about in the Baltimore thread. I couldn't say too much then because I didn't know very much. I know a little more now.

Of all the things I fear, fire may be on top of the list. I remember as a young kid a house behind mine burning up on Thanksgiving. The family got out, their dog didn't. I cried and cried and cried for days for a family and dog I didn't even know. I also started worrying. Even though I love my ass-scented candles, I take great care with them. I'm paranoid about unplugging things and making sure things are turned off, to the point where I've turned around and driven home to be sure. I worry about my dogs. I have all of two pictures of my dad, who died when I was 10. One is of him with his pet parrot, the only copy that exists. I have the oil painting of my dog Cindy, our bulldog, that we made for my dad a couple of years before he died. I have my dad's coffee mug and medical bag (no drugs left in it).

The woman with two cockers who wouldn't give her name? My daughter's roommate. Yep, that's my daughter's place of residence. Firemen had to go in through there to fight the fire for some reason. So their house is close to a total loss. Very close. All people are animals are alive, so that's very, very good. Everything else can and will be replaced, so that's good, too. Still an awful, terrible, unsettling feeling. They're at least six months from being able to go in the house. Because of the position of their rooms, my daughter came out less the worse for wear than her roomie and she feels guilty.

In the odd way we think department, the roomie is a media person. She's covered assorted tragedies and this a.m. felt guilty for not giving her name. She's frantic as firemen are smashing her house and shooting water through there. Pretty understandable. She was even talking about calling and explaining or something.

My wife and son went up there today. My son said the insurance folks were great and seemed determined to make this as easy as possible. A bunch of my daughter's clothes have already been bagged and sent to the cleaners. They'll find them housing. The replacement stuff will be "as good or better" they were told. My wife got them some new clothes today.
We'll probably take some of our Baltimore time and slip down and check on things. They're about an hour away. But my thought that I'd spend all weekend on a salvage mission appears to be wrong. Insurance takes care of all that.

My daughter is a sweet kid who loves her friends and is very emotional. I stopped by her restaurant yesterday so she could give me a very cool Father's Day present (an awesome Kokopeli statue). She was in great spirits. One of her staff ran up to me and said, "I JUST LOVE YOUR DAUGHTER!" So do I, I said, so do I.

A few short hours later, all hell broke loose. I feel just awful that I can't do more for her but I did remind her that I'd make sure what they did not replace, I would. She's still here, roomie is still here, dogs still her. Neighbors are not in life-threatening situations. Could have been a hell of a lot worse.

Ugh. Sorry Moddy. Growing up there were two classmates who lost the family farmhouses to fires. One family it happened to twice, about 10 years apart, after they'd completely rebuilt. Can remember everyone going out there with food, clothes, etc.

And I agree about being paranoid about it. Not when I was growing up, but now, living in a gigantic apartment building, I just keep waiting for one of the psycho neighbor kids to start playing with matches at 1 a.m.

When I was 8, my house nearly caught fire when my father, who was cutting away some old insulation, accidentally cut an electrical wire. He quickly ran to the electrical box and turned everything off, told me to get out of the house, then called the fire dept.

I remember running to my room to get the things I loved most (a stuffed animal, my money bank, a couple of other things) and ran out. The fire chief arrived first in a car, met my dad and went inside. I was feeling a little strange standing outside, so I went back in. Just as I was watching my dad and the fire chief talk, the chief yelled out, "Get your family out of this house, now!" I ran right back out of the house.

Fire trucks arrived, but luckily, my dad had turned off the power, and the house never burned.

Sue and David just got home. I'm going up tomorrow. David told me I did not want to see the house. He said the insurance guy and people working there were real pros. Computers, TVs and stereos already being worked on, clothes sent to a smoke specialist, unsalvagable stuff (which was most of it) removed. They felt a lot better after spending the day with her, but she's still shook up.

She also had to go into work. They wouldn't give her the day off. I will have to avoid going to her restaurant tomorrow to keep from saying something snide.

So glad your daughter is safe, although I can't believe they are making her come to work.

Moderator1 said:

Of all the things I fear, fire may be on top of the list. I remember as a young kid a house behind mine burning up on Thanksgiving. The family got out, their dog didn't. I cried and cried and cried for days for a family and dog I didn't even know.

Click to expand...

I have a similar story, but mine had a worse ending. A couple of days after Christmas in 1976 around midnight, a house in the neighborhood behind ours caught fire. The father got out (mom was away) but the two kids, ages 3 and 5, didn't. A high school kid who lived across the street was coming home from work and discovered the fire. He and the dad tried to save the kids, but couldn't. He was never the same again. The mom and dad moved away, the remains of the house were torn down and a new one was built. I still think of that family at Christmastime and especially on the rare occasions I drive through that neighborhood. I am very afraid of fire and I'm pretty sure this is why.

Last January, my brother in law was involved in a fire at a ski resort in which 2 others died. He got out. He told one of the two to get out, and for some reason, they didn't. He lives with lots of guilt about that. Then to make matters worse, the families of the two that died are suing him (they are suing everyone).